Disclaimer: I do not own, neither do I claim to own, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, or the Dragon Ball Z franchise. Neither do I own any branch, spin-off or anything pertaining to the two series. SEGA owns Sonic, and Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation and FUNimation all own DBZ.
Claimer: On the flip side, I am the owner of Luster the Cat, Megan the Wolf, Jack the Cat, Entity, Quill, that one villain in Power of Unknown, and all the original Eggman robots that appeared in Season 1. Contact me if you want to use any of these characters or ideas in your work.
Last time, on Luster the Cat...
Gohan and Goten brought a strange-looking animal to their home, letting their mother and father, Chi-Chi and Goku in on the discovery. After a little while of standing around and thinking, it was decided that they would all wait for morning, so that their friends were easily accessible. This was a good plan - it meant that each family member could sleep on this happening and think about whatever could beat it the next day.
Upon waking up, some of their friends came along to take a look at the animal, including the likes of the Ox-King, Yamcha, Krillin, Bulma and many others. Seconds after everyone is bundled into the spare bedroom, the anthro wakes up and reveals his name as Luster the Cat.
New World, New Friends
Now, in the present, we find the Z-Fighters and their supporters in the face of a seemingly new enemy...but is this the case?
Starting From Somewhere
"My name?" the Mobian pointed to himself in confirmation. "My name's Luster the Cat, and I need your help."
That statement didn't answer any questions; it only brought more to everyone's minds. What does he want? Why does he need their help?
Bulma stepped up to the plate, volunteering to be the one asking all the obvious yet helpful questions that tempted fate.
"Why? What do you need help with?" the fourty-five year old woman questioned, making sure to come across as a nice and caring person.
Certain people might say otherwise...you know who I mean.
"Because, I'm from a different dimension, and I need'ta get back!" Luster answered, smiling, apparently picking up the fast-speaking mannerisms of his hedgehog guardian.
This didn't breathe a sigh of relief into the residents of this world, either. It only replaced their confused expressions with the one belonging to surprise.
"From...a different dimension?!" Krillin raised an eyebrow, doubtful.
"How does that even work?" Yamcha added, folding his arms. "We better get him outta here, and fast!"
Gohan seemed to be one of the only ones among the entire group to understand what that claim meant. He stood in front of the bed, calming everyone down and allowing himself time to speak.
"Now, now, everyone. This isn't the first time we've seen visitors from alternative worlds," Gohan calmed, his mind turning back several years. "Before any of you get suspicious, Goten and I found him unconscious, and I'm sure all of you that can sense ki can easily tell that he's no threat."
"But what if he's compressing his power so we can't sense how high it is?" Oolong refuted, not believing the credibility of this creature.
"Uh, I don't think that's the case," Gohan returned, facing Luster. "Hey, Luster, how strong are you?"
"Gohan! Don't be so forward with him!" Chi-Chi demanded, worrying for her son's safety.
The gi-wearing academic ignored his mother, and waited for a reply.
"How...strong, I am?" Luster tilted his head, trying to recall his best feats. "Well, I took on a super-powered ancient water beast and lived, I managed to defeat a powerful robot...I have a gun, but I think I left that back home. I'm not really that strong. Sonic and Tails usually do all the work."
"You keep mentioning these Sonic and Tails guys. Who are they? Are they like you?" Gohan questioned further.
"They're the nicest people in the world! Eh, I mean, my world. They defeat the evil Dr. Eggman like, every day, they rescued me when I was about to die and they saved my world lots of times!" Luster explained, reminiscing of a past never forgotten.
"I see..." Gohan commented, thinking about what he was just told. Something rings my bells...these two sound like us! I bet he's got more friends.
Now, were the crew less suspicious and doubtful of the cyan cat. They all scratched their heads like they were to shy to say sorry, though mumblings did make themselves audible. Though, one person wasn't fazed by this whole escapade. He had no expression other than a finger on his chin like he was in deep thought.
"Daddy, are you okay?" Goten asked, looking up to his tall father.
Goku snapped out of his 'trance' and turned straight to his worried son and put on a 'I'm alright' face.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Goten. Thanks for asking!" Goku answered, faking his current emotions and thoughts. He's lying. I can tell he is.
"We can assume that this 'Dr. Eggman' is some kind of recurring enemy of yours. Is there anything else about you we should know?" continued Bulma, wanting more information.
Luster sighed, and prepared to tell a long story, but realised something. Something important.
"Well, I, er, were there any gems that flung themselves over this world?" Luster replied.
"Yeah!" Goten happily responded. "Gohan and I saw eight gems - one was bigger than the others - pop outta you, then they went to other parts of the world. It was pretty!"
The cat nodded, knowing full well what these gems were.
"I know, right? Man those Chaos Emeralds are great to look at..." Luster agreed, thinking back. I loved looking at those emeralds...whenever I held them, I could feel their power spreading through my body. It was like they trusted me somehow...
"Chaos...Emeralds? Boy do they sound fancy!" commented Ox-King. "What're they like?"
"Oh, they are amazing! They've got so much power in them, it's pretty much limitless! When you gather all seven, you transform into a Super Form! You'll be much faster, stronger and invulnerable! Well, it depends on how strong your opponent is...if he's really strong, then you will be feeling some damage," Luster explained, remembering how Super Forms work, taught to him by Sonic. "Also, there's a Master Emerald which controls all the Chaos Emeralds. It's the most powerful thing in my world."
Sounds like the sorta thing Vegeta would be interested in... Goku joked to himself, falling back into the pit of thought.
"When I think of ultra-powerful macguffins, the Dragon Balls tend to come to mind," Trunks brought up. "To save you the trouble of asking, the Dragon Balls are just like your Chaos Emeralds, except when the balls come together, a massive green dragon called Shenron appears, who grants you two wishes. They can even bring back people from the dead!"
'Bring back people from the dead'... Luster heard, replaying those six words repeatedly. Yay! I can bring my parents back to life!
Everyone realised what had to be done - the Dragon Balls have always been by their side to restore and mistakes or damage caused by villains. Now was their time to help an inter-dimensional visitor back home.
"Luster, I believe I speak on the behalf on everyone here when I say, welcome to our world! We'll get you back to your planet!" Gohan smiled, as did everyone else besides Goku.
"Yay! Thanks!" the Mobian thanked everyone, nodding graciously. "So uh, what're all your names?"
The Z-Fighters and their friends that were there at the time introduced themselves with a nice and warming smile, accepting their new friend into their universe.
Come slide down rainbows in the sky, let's fly away!
Like a bird, you're free to see the boundless face of the Earth!
Let the wind blow you like a kite,
and glide away!
Far beyond the clouds,
You'll find another place!
If the road ahead seems so cold and gray,
When night never turns to day,
Don't you be afraid, go fly away!
Cha-La Head-Cha-La
No time to hesitate,
Go on and search the Earth!
Within it lies a magic surprise!
Cha-La Head-Cha-La
Be cool, don't be afraid, you've got power
To get you through the darkest night!
Sparking!
Zooming round and round
The endless sky like a coaster!
Hold on tight, or you may find yourself trapped in a maze!
When that happens,
You may think you won't ever find your way
As the paths that you may take
All seem the same!
If the road ahead seems so cold and gray,
When night never turns to day,
Don't you be afraid, go fly away!
Cha-La Head-Cha-La
No time to hesitate,
Go on and search the Earth!
Within it lies a magic surprise!
Cha-La Head-Cha-La
Be cool, don't be afraid, you've got power
To get you through the night!
Cha-La Head-Cha-La
No time to hesitate,
Go on and search the Earth!
Within it lies a magic surprise!
Cha-La Head-Cha-La
Be cool, don't be afraid, you've got power
To get you through the darkest night!
AH, HA, AH, HA! Cha-La!
Meanwhile, outside the Capsule Corporation's headquarters in West City, with the exact address being WST 3338926 K, a dark clothed, glove and shoe wearing man looked up at the sky, sensing something peculiar - a power unnatural. Something he had not expected to see.
"What is that power? It's incredible..." the man sensed, having a surprised look on his face. It's hardly possible, but could the appearance of that stupid animal be connected to this...power? I suppose an investigation is in order.
He charged up a basic level of ki and started to ascend, eventually blasting ahead over the city in search of that insane energy.
I can't even speak...the power's that great. If I were to harness it...HA! That's it! I'll be finally able to best Kakarot in battle! Soon, I'll be known as the true King of all Saiyans! I'll be at a level further than Super Saiyan 1, 2, or even 3! Super Vegeta is reborn! Vegeta marvelled, using his own ki to propel himself forward at breakneck speeds.
Vegeta certainly is a prideful one.
Pride of the Prince
Beside an overly active waterfall, a tall, green man wearing a white overcoat was levitating rather close to the calming waters. Meditation - a state that calms the mind and induces consciousness, to realise benefit or to simply ease the user of stress. One of the person's favourite pastimes.
Like Vegeta, he awoke from his peaceful state at the delayed sensing of Chaos Energy. However, this one was seemingly closer, and that was apparent with the power the green one felt.
It was just too surreal.
That power...what might that be? the Namekian speculated, hovering in the air. It's nothing like usual ki energy.
He slowly made his way to where the energy seemed to be flowing from - which was stuck to a rock in the stream leading to the waterfall. After a quick extraction with the use of his trademark 'stretchy arms' ability, the Namek became utterly bewildered by the incredible power the scarlet emerald was radiating.
It left him speechless. Sure, the Dragon Balls were powerful, but these things felt different.
I feel something else...this emerald has life in it. It's its own sentient being, so therefore, those seven other emeralds I sense must be of the same calibre - excluding that stronger one, the green stretchy one sensed, scanning the emerald's bottomless energy.
However, a new, familiar and weaker life was making his or her way toward him for some unknown reason. The Namekian knew who this was. It was clear as day.
After all, you could never forget the tainted ki signature of this fellow. As he approached, the man that was currently airborne simply stood there and appeared to notice the Chaos Emerald that was in the hand of the green one.
"You have something I need," Vegeta noticed, scoffing. "Hand me that gem, Namek."
"No. It's power is too controlling to give to someone of your stature," the Namekian refused, clenching his spare fist. "And I have a name, you know. It's Piccolo."
"Yes yes, but you're as insignificant as your entire race," Vegeta insulted, folding his arms. "You hand me that emerald or you'll feel a pain worse than suffering."
Vegeta charged up a large amount of ki, eventually surrounding himself in a golden yellow aura - his hair was yellow, and his muscle size was slightly increased. Lightning aura could be seen sparking around his body.
"Hmph," Piccolo grunted, throwing aside his overcoat. "I've seen better insults from Krillin. Enough talk, Vegeta. I'll show you why you can't have this gem; a Super Saiyan 2 won't stop me."
"Fine by me!" Vegeta nodded, using a Galick Gun towards the green Piccolo.
The Namekian, surprisingly, blocked it without a scratch, much to the surprise of the Prince.
"As you can see, an evil heart is no match for a pure heart," Piccolo taunted, grasping the Chaos Emerald.
"What? How is that...wait a minute, you're using the power of that gem, aren't you?! Argh!" Vegeta shouted, firing a barrage of Big Bang Attacks that were all, again, blocked easily. "You...irritating weasel!"
"I don't even need to do anything to defeat you, Vegeta. You don't deserve this power," Piccolo finished, making the Prince blast away at super fast speeds without a word otherwise. It's best not to let him gather all those gems. Who knows what that maniacal Saiyan will do when he obtains all eight.
Piccolo followed the energy of a different Chaos Emerald to the one Vegeta was going after, initiating this world's first Chaos Emerald hunt. Boy was it a humdinger.
Chaos Emerald Hunt 2k14
Back with the people at the West District capsule-like home, the visitors were saying their goodbyes to the Son family and their new friend, Luster the Cat. As soon as everybody departed from the home's vicinity, the males of the group of five exited the abode to catch a breather and decide what was going to happen for the next while.
"I say we should get the Chaos and Master Emeralds first, then have the Dragon Balls wish me and them back home," Luster suggested, stretching his arms.
"Sounds like a plan! You guys in?" Gohan nodded, liking the sound of that.
"Yeah!" Goten agreed, jumping up and down in excitement. "I wanna search the world! It's so fun!"
"That settles it. Dad, what do you think?" Gohan asked, turning to his father.
Goku made no noise - he was still in a deep thought about something certain. It bothered him, like a bee at a picnic.
"Sorry, it's just..." Goku finally spoke, walking towards Luster. "How truly strong are you? Punch me."
"What? Punch you?" Luster repeated, shaking his head. "Why?"
"Yeah dad, why?" Gohan questioned, wanting to know the logic behind that request.
"I just wanna see how strong you are! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Goku grinned, reassuring everybody that this practise was going to be safe.
"Uh, okay then..." the cat reluctantly sighed, clenching his fist and tensing it hard, releasing the punch as soon as he felt the time was right.
The pure-Saiyan was then hit with a punch - though it was one he did not feel that much of, mainly because of the weak power behind it.
"Huh. Then it's true," realised Goku, getting back into that thinking pose. "Yep, you've got untapped potential. Before we go any further with taking you back home, I'm gonna train you to become much stronger, Luster."
As a result of that statement, everyone else became completely and utterly bewildered; beside themselves with shock. Goku was going to train Luster?
"Whaaa...train, me? But how?" wondered Luster, pointing to himself in confusion. Sonic and Tails've already trained me. What could this guy teach me?
"I'll teach you all about how we fight in this world, and about ki. First lesson! Ki is an energy that is inside any and every living being. Depending on the person, or thing, ki levels can either be huge or small and positive or negative. Individuals can use ki to perform powerful attacks. Take this for example!" Goku instructed, creating an overturned V-shape with his hands, putting them behind his back.
It kinda looked like a cup. Out of nowhere, Goku's latent blue energy appeared in between the hands, as he chanted a word that would make Luster excited as heck.
"KAME-HAME-HA!" the Saiyan chanted, as he pointed the energy towards a mountain and released it.
Only several rocks and a boulder came crashing down as a result of that beam - which was odd, to Luster, anyway. Gohan and Goten knew perfectly well why this didn't completely disintegrate the mountain.
"That was awesome!" commented Luster, with a large smile on his face. Where have I seen that before...?
"It's called the Kamehameha, if you didn't quite catch what I was saying," Goku added, looking towards the mountain. "Usually that woulda done a whole lot more damage, but I held back. Didn't want to remove the mountain completely!"
The power coming outta that was immense! the Mobian thought, utterly bewildered. "How am I gonna learn that?"
"Well, I haven't really had to 'teach' anyone the Kamehameha Wave, but I'm pretty sure I can! But, ki training's for tomorrow, anyway," answered Goku, turning to his two sons. "Stick around if you want, guys. I'm hoping this doesn't go through dinner!"
"Okay," Gohan nodded, facing his younger sibling. "Wanna spar while those two train? It's a good way to pass the time."
"Sure!" Goten happily agreed, loving the idea.
As the two brothers began fighting each other for training purposes, Luster and Goku popped over to a random nearby tree and got to work on building the future.
Training
"Alright, first exercise! Punch this tree repeatedly until it falls!" Goku ordered, pointing to the tree. "This helps build your punching power."
"But won't this hurt my hands?" Luster worried, reluctant to punch the piece of nature.
"You'll be fine. Just keep punching as hard as you can, and I promise, you'll come out a whole lot stronger!" the Super Saiyan promised, while the cat followed instructions and began wailing on the tree as hard as he can.
Never would he give up. Luster somehow gained a burning fire in his heart - the scorching flames of determination had taken over his senses within a couple minutes. It wasn't until approximately an hour into punching, where the tree had sustained little damage, that the Mobian cat noticed something.
"We haven't been properly introduced, I don't think," Luster greeted, offering Goku a handshake. "My name's Luster the Cat."
That's true, Goku realised, accepting the handshake. "I'm Son Goku the uh, Saiyan."
"What's a Saiyan?" Luster questioned, completely stopping his punching for now.
"Saiyans are a warrior race who get stronger after nearly dying in battle. Gohan and Goten over there, are Half-Saiyans because Chi-Chi, their mother and my wife, is a human," Goku proudly explained, after letting go of the handshake. "Our home planet was destroyed by a monster named Frieza, but I killed him shortly before Planet Namek exploded. It was thanks to my Super Saiyan form that gave me the power to do so. Super Saiyans are super-powerful transformations that only Saiyans can do which increases your speed, durability and strength. Like those Super Forms from your world!"
"Cool!" Luster smiled, liking the story. "I'm a Mobian, and yeah. Sonic and Tails haven't told me anything about Mobian history, but we all pretty much look like me...or what I am."
"Interesting. Say, is this Sonic guy really that strong?" Goku asked, folding his arms.
Luster smirked a little. He loved explaining to others how strong his guardians are.
"Of course he is! He beat Chaos, the God of Destruction!" the cat explained to his new-found friend, turning to the tree afterwards and continuing his training.
Beat a god, you say? He really sounds powerful! But can that Super Form of his stand up to a Super Saiyan? the Saiyan theorised, watching Luster pound away.
As fighting spirit raged inside the young cat's mind, time passed. A lot of time passed - though night never came. It wasn't even sunset. Okay, it wasn't all that long, but to Luster, every minute felt like an hour. He was exhausted, though he kept going. What type of determination was it that made him go through all this?
I gotta do this...I don't wanna depend on others to fight battles for me. I don't wanna be useful for just dodging. I wanna be known...as a powerful warrior! Luster kept saying to himself, as he kept charging at that tree with all of his might.
Miraculously, after three extra hours of punching, taking a breather and more punching, something happened. The tree started to crack, and with an echoing sound that scared off local birds, said plant came crashing down. Luster had done it - he made a tree fall!
"I did it!" Luster celebrated, Spin Jumping up and down in excitement.
He went up to another tree, and punched it once with decent power. That too, came tumbling down, adding to his strength and happiness.
"Good job! Try punching me again. Hopefully I'll be able to feel a lot more than what I felt four or five hours ago!" Goku instructed. Should I read his mind? Nah, he's not really much of a threat, so he can't be hiding anything from us...then again, with the rate he's going at, he might just become a threat!
Luster nodded, and charged up a punch with all of his available strength. At the last second, he released his attack, hitting Goku square on the chest. That definitely had to do something.
"How'd I do?" the cat wondered, wanting an evaluation.
"Very well! I certainly felt that!" Goku commented, smiling and rubbing his chest. "That kinda hurt a little. Now, do the same as what ya just did, but with your feet!"
The Mobian, as a resultant happening of that last instruction, had his mouth and eyes wide open, in shock.
"You-okay!" Luster nodded, eventually realising that it was a good idea.
So, he followed instructions, like a good little orphan. The pathetic cat continued to kick another tree until it wielded similar results to his punching exercise, which made him go through the same though processes.
I gotta do this...my punches are powerful now, I just gotta work on my kicks. Soon, I won't have to count on Sonic and Tails to do stuff! Thanks to the Dragon Balls, I can bring my parents back to life...I might not even be with my friends any more... Luster thought, realising what may occur to him in the future. That's a scary thought...but right now, I gotta focus on my training.
In the approximative allotment of time pertaining to two and a half hours, this fic's main protagonist and current apprentice in the ways of Z-fighting had successfully cleared his present task of kicking down a tree using nothing but the potential in his feet. This was quite the feat and pleased the proudness senses in the boy, giving him a sense of confidence.
"Son Goku, thank you," Luster grinned, offering a high five to his mentor.
"No problem!" Goku returned, taking the high five with a great smile and outlook. "You're only gonna get stronger from here. I can tell."
The two exchanged looks as they both realised they were going to become good friends, even though they still didn't know too much about the other.
But that isn't necessary with friendships.
Our world is under a grand spell,
As I sit right here and wait on for you,
Keep relyin' on you to keep me strong,
Without you there, life is a living hell.
When I'm alone
I weep and cry, in the corner of my mind's deepest depths
I do not know how, to survive, learn to be strong by myself.
You're out there
On the battlefield
Until our peace is disrupted
My sorrow is what I yield, I remember what, happened then.
(oh back then)
When I'm alone
I have to dream to see
When I am alone in the empty room
To know what's it's like
To be strong
On my own...lonesome.
Beyond the world there exists
A being, capable of such grand power
I wish I was that being, oh I do
So I won't, have to cower.
When I'm alone
I weep and cry, in the corner of my mind's deepest depths
I do not know how to survive, learn to be strong by myself.
You're out there
On the battlefield
Before that one moment when time stops
My sorrow is what I yield, back in the past, I was hopeless.
(help me)
When I'm alone
Must train everyday
When I am alone on the lime sofa
What's it all about?
To be strong
Must train...everyday.
In my dreams
In my wildest dreams
I find something new
Bestest friend.
Blue hero
Yellow flying fox
Then, there is me
All alone.
You're out there
On the battlefield
Until our peace is disrupted
My sorrow is what I yield, I remember what, happened then.
(oh back then)
You're out there
On the battlefield
Before that one moment when time stops
My sorrow is what I yield, back in the past, I was hopeless.
(goodbye)
Author Notes: Looks like Luster's getting trained by Goku himself. Something I've planned for a while now.
Oh, Lucina and Robin confirmed for Smash.
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WOOOOOOOO!
